Recent Posts

  • Bagatelle Lodge: a luxury retreat in the middle of the Kalahari Desert
  • Old Drift Lodge: luxury accommodation on the banks of the Zambezi
  • A visit to “the most underrated part of Namibia”: the Kavango region 
  • 4×4 driving in Sandwich Harbour: nerve-racking, but amazing 
  • Explore Africa test: hotels in Swakopmund

Archives

  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • March 2021
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018

Categories

  • Adventure
  • Art & Culture
  • City Trip
  • Endangered
  • Kenya
  • Morocco
  • Namibia
  • Nigeria
  • Overlanding
  • Rwanda
  • Safari & Wildlife
  • South Africa
  • Sustainable
  • Tanzania
  • Travel Africa
  • Type of trip
  • Uganda
  • Zanzibar
  • Zimbabwe

Favorites

No Favorites

Recent Comments

    Menu
    • Home
    • Explore
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • Nigeria
      • Rwanda
      • South Africa
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Zimbabwe
    • Type of trip
      • Adventure
      • Art & Culture
      • City Trip
      • Endangered
      • Overlanding
      • Safari
      • Sustainable
    • About us
    • Shop
    • English
    • Nederlands
    • Share your story
    • Advertise with us
    Explore Africa
    Tara Vierbergen
    on 27 December 2018
    Share Story
    Subscribe
    Home  /  Nigeria • Travel Africa  /  Essential information when travelling to Nigeria
    NigeriaTravel Africa

    Essential information when travelling to Nigeria

    9 Minute Read Leave a Comment

    Travelling to Nigeria? Here you will find essential travel information and the best hotspots, addresses and places to visit.

    Location

    Nigeria is located in western Africa and shares borders with Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Nigeria has been independent from the UK since 1960.

    Geography

    The Nigerian landscape is mountainous with several different rain forests. Elephants, giraffes, lions and hippos live deep in nature. The country has a coastline of 853 kilometers, from where you can often see the oil platforms.

    Capital

    The capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is Abuja. Lagos is the largest city in Africa and the former capital of Nigeria. Other major cities are Enugu, Gusau, Ibadan, Oyo and Kano.

    Population

    The 182 million inhabitants on an area of ​​923,768 km² (356668 square mile) make Nigeria the most densely populated country in Africa. Residents live primarily from agriculture, livestock farming, and fishing. The oil production in the country accounts for three-quarters of the state’s income.

    Language

    English and Hausa are the official languages ​​for Nigeria, but there are also many different local languages in the country.

    Religion

    Nigeria has almost as many Christians as Muslims. In the southern half of the nation, residents are predominantly Christian, and in the northern half most are Muslim. A small minority is not religious or follows a local traditional religion.

    Money

    The currency in Nigeria is the naira (NGN). The prices in Nigeria are much lower than in western countries. The restaurants especially tend to be cheaper. In Nigeria, it is custom to give a tip of about 5%.

    Climate

    Nigeria has a tropical climate. Along the coast, the temperature is always 25 to 35 degrees Celcius (77℉ to 95℉). Inland, the temperatures fluctuate around 30 to 40 degrees Celcius (86℉ to 104℉)

    When to go

    January, November and December are the best months to travel to Nigeria. It can be very hot or rainy outside of winter. The rain season is usually from April to September.

    Sights

    Lagos has 21 million inhabitants and is the largest city in Africa. The metropolis is the economic and cultural center of Nigeria, with a number of interesting museums that are worth visiting, such as the Nike Art Gallery and the National Museum.

    From the city of Oshogbo you can visit the sacred forest where the Yoruba tribe honors their goddess of fertility. Canoe is the oldest city in western Africa, recognizable by the sandstone houses and the historic city wall. Nigeria is also particularly suitable for a safari. You can find 50 different mammals and 350 species of birds in the Yankari National Park and the Kainji National Park. Nigeria also has the largest diversity of butterflies in the world to complete the idyllic picture.

    Time zone

    The time zone for Nigeria is GMT+1 all year round. This means it’s the same time in Nigeria as it is in most of the western European mainland, except during the summer. Most European countries have daylight savings time which causes those countries to switch to GMT+2 in the summer. Nigerians never set their clocks an hour forward or backward.

    Practical information

    A visa is required before departure to Nigeria. For the application of a Nigerian visa you need a number of documents, including two passport photos, a vaccination booklet, invitation letter, bank statement and a travel plan. You can apply for a visa at the Nigerian embassy in your country. Citizens from some countries can get their visa online via the website of The Nigeria Immigration Service. Your passport must be valid for at least another 6 months at the time of the visa application. Start on time with your request, a visa for Nigeria may take a while to obtain.

    Transport

    Cars drive on the right side of the road in Nigeria. You need an International Drivers Permit (IDP) both drive and rent a vehicle in Nigeria. An IDP can only be bought in your home country. You may also need an (old-) English travel plug or travel plug adapter. Alcohol above the age of 18 is allowed in Nigeria, but as a driver of a (rental) car or motorcycle, you have to be completely sober before you start driving. Punishments for violation of the law can be severe.

    Homosexuality is not allowed in all of Nigeria. It is recommended to arrange a designated driver in Nigeria before departure. If you’re not familiar with Lagos it is best to not go from A to B by foot or bicycle due to safety.

    Health

    It’s mandatory to obtain a cholera stamp in your passport before your trip to Nigeria. This is an indication for border posts that you most likely did not come into contact with cholera. A vaccination for polio is mandatory when staying in Nigeria for longer than 4 weeks and you must keep a vaccination certificate with you so that you can show it when asked.

    Visit your GP or local health institute for a vaccination consultation well before your trip. Depending on your health, the area you’re visiting and season of travel vaccinations may include DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio), Yellow Fever and Hepatitis A. You may also be offered vaccinations against BMR (Mumps, Measles, Red dogs), Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Rabies, schistosomiasis, and viruses carried by mosquitoes such as the zika virus. Malaria also occurs in Nigeria. Your doctor can advise you on how to best protect your health.

    Safety

    Drinking water from the tap is strongly discouraged. If you can’t buy water in bottles, you should use water purifiers (mostly in the form of tablets) or boil the water for 5 minutes. This also applies to water that you use when brushing your teeth, changing lenses or rinsing vegetables.

    The alarm number you can call in case of emergency is 199 or 112. You can use both numbers nationwide to contact police, ambulance or the fire department.

    Some Nigerian states are unsafe for tourists. Always check with your government and the embassy in advance for the most recent travel advice. Usually, the foreign affairs department of your government will have this information on a website, but if you can’t find it you should be able to call them about it. Look up the address of the embassy of your government in Nigeria and save the address. Program the emergency number of your embassy in Nigeria in your phone, just in case. Have a safe trip and enjoy!

    Advertise with us

    Tags: essential travel information, Nigeria, Travel, travel guide
    Previous Article
    South Africa Travel Guide: essential travel information
    Next Article
    Kirinda, Rwanda. Photo: Tara Vierbergen
    Essential information when travelling to Rwanda

    About Author

    Tara Vierbergen

    Related Posts

    by Ruben Bakker
    30 January 2023
    Namibia

    Bagatelle Lodge: a luxury retreat in the middle of the Kalahari Desert

    8 Minutes Read
    by Caroline de Vente
    03 January 2023
    Safari & Wildlife

    Old Drift Lodge: luxury accommodation on the banks of the Zambezi

    5 Minutes Read
    by Roan Andree
    11 February 2022
    Art & Culture

    Explore Africa’s festivals: from international artists to undiscovered treasures

    12 Minutes Read

    Leave a Comment

    Cancel reply

    Random Posts

    • Resilience of art under lockdown in Zimbabwe 8 September 2020
    • Overlanding Africa? “A friendly face will take you much further than your passport” 28 November 2019
    • Trein Kenia
      Travelling through Kenya? Let’s get local! 21 November 2019

    Follow us

    Newsletter

    © Copyright 2019 Explore Africa / De Vente Media | Privacy Statement & Disclaimer